It’s going to be the question du jour leading up to the start of the NBA season. By All-Star Weekend it could have faded completely or changed into a bigger question of Lakers vs. Heat, but for right now, the big one is who’s the best in the West, the Lakers or Thunder? And the New York Post reports that Heat assistant coach and NBA legend, former MVP Bob McAdoo thinks that it’s the Thunder who retained control of the conference and a spot in the Finals. From the New York Post:

Despite the buzz about the Lakers adding Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, McAdoo expects to see the Thunder again in The Finals if Miami gets through.

It’s not a crazy thought, or outlandish, and it’s no disrespect to the Lakeshow. The Thunder still feature the Western Champs, feature a younger roster built around a centrally better player than anyone on the Lakers (Kevin Durant has arrived, folks) and a top-ten player in Russell Westbrook, arguably a top-fifteen player in James Harden. They have depth, versatility, can run and score in bunches. Their defense isn’t elite but it’s still good enough to get the job done against 97% of all teams in the NBA.

And McAdoo is just an opposing assistant coach. It’s notable, because he’s a legend and he has perspective, and it’s worth talking about. But from his mind everything has to be played out. We just have to see how this Lakers thing, with the talent and the age and the power and the injuries and the roster and the coaching works out. Until then, you’re going to find a pretty even split between the two.